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Monday, August 22, 2005

MFA Program Rankings

I found this information (thanks to Lee Anderson) at the Poets & Writers Speakeasy forum:

...When timlockridge posted that new rankings were available [of MFA programs] I went right over to USNews website and bought the new 2006 grad school rankings (there was no way to tell from the site what programs were included without forking over the cc#). Then, after searching the site and finding absolutely nothing, I sent them an email asking whether the writing program rankings had been updated, and requesting a refund if they hadn't. Here's their response:

Unfortunately we no longer rank creative writing. The last time we did so was in 1997 and you can find most of these rankings in local libraries.

What's up with that? I wonder why USNews stopped ranking MFA programs? Not enough interest from buyers of the grad school book? Or maybe they're reconfiguring the way to "judge" MFA programs?

Another forum member posted an article about FSU's MFA program, and in that article you find this sentence: In 2007, the National Research Council will publish a new ranking of creative writing programs.

So maybe there's hope for all of you upcoming MFAers! You too will be able to pour over rankings, hoping your application only gets accepted by the top programs! One can only hope...

If I had to do it all over again, I would say Fuck You to Iowa, and go work with Rita Dove, Charles Wright, and Gregory Orr over at Virginia. Sigh. Now, I'm depressed.

7 comments:

Listen to me! Stop this. Do not scream "Fuck You" at Iowa, even if you want to and they deserve it. You are too good to be depressed about this. You are too freakin' good. Do not be depressed. You won a "Discovery/The Nation" Award. Your time is just around the corner. Time for nose to the grindstone, Missy. Time to read more and write more. Don't make me come over there.

You are too good to be depressed, do you hear me? No sense in thinking about if you could do it all over again. To quote my dad, "That is irrelevant." There is the now, and the now is good only if you make it so.

I'm not depressed. I'm over Iowa. I just love to poke fun at my time there.

I've got my nose to the grindstone. I'm always writing or reading. One of the perks of moving in with another writer is the chance to read his books. Last night, I settled down with a small stack of recent books that have been on my wish list for a while. It was dreamy.

But thanks for your concern. You can be my "drill" sergeant anytime!

Anon.,

Yes, the Foxhead is great. I went there often. Cheap beer, and good company. I fondly remember Spencer Short trying to impress the ladies with his pool playing skillz. Alas, he went home alone each night. I also fondly remember the literary graffiti on the walls of the small-as-hell bathroom. Too much, too much.

Matthew,

Ah, NYC! I'm trying to figure out how to move there next. I want to live there for at least a few years.

Just passing through, glad to see you're back in blogworld. I visited Asleep Inside an Old Guitar often -- many of the blogs I read regularly are ones I originally found through the links in your page.

Enjoyed your post about MFA's etc. I've never been in an MFA program, or in grad school at all-- if I ever do, I'm not likely to apply at Iowa (aside from whatever my chances are at getting in -- and aside from the fact that I haven't liked much of the poetry of poets who have schooled or taught there), probably because I spent much time in my younger years visiting relatives in Iowa. If I were to go to school I'd want someplace less familiar.